TechRadar Verdict
The UE Megaboom produces crisp audio, has a great battery life, which makes it easy to recommend over its competitors. But, at Rs 16,500, it didn't blow us up to make that barter.
Pros
- +
Minimalistic style
- +
Bigger sound, better battery
- +
Easy to use
Cons
- -
Doesn't offer anything new
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The UE Boom 2 sets a good benchmark for the Bluetooth speaker that claim to fall under its territory. For starters, it is among the most sleek looking portable speakers, with leading performance, waterproofing and a multiple features when combined with its app.
It is somewhat a bigger version of the Boom 2 speaker from Ultimate Ears, which is already a great buy in its segment. But the prefix 'Mega' does bring variations in sound. It has louder and fuller audio than its smaller sibling. The addition in size brings a top-up in battery life as well, which made it last for 20 hours on a single charge.
The Megaboom comes at a steep cost for a Bluetooth speaker. So, with the sole deciding factor being the power and battery, is it worth that extra cost over the Boom 2?
Design
As the name suggests, the Megaboom dwarfs its siblings in size, and is among the bigger portable speakers in general. It is close to 9-inches tall, but it still retains the compact cylindrical shape like the Boom 2. More or less, you can compare it with a large thermos to get an idea of how it looks.
It also continues to wear the fabric stitching, which is seen on other UE speakers too. The fabric wrapped around the body has a sparse thread count and the similar button design as the original Boom.
You still get the large "+,-" buttons positioned horizontally at the front, and the power button resting in the middle of its concave top, which is also home to the Bluetooth button. But, once flipped over, there's a port flap that helps the Megaboom in its waterproofing (IPX7). Under the flap, there's a 3.5mm jack and a microUSB port for charging. It also has a metal hook that can be used to attach it to a bag or just to hang it like a decor accessory.
As mentioned above, the thermos shaped speaker is easy to slide into bottle pockets or side of your bag (a bag that's at least 10-inch long).
Performance
Similar to the design, the UE Megaboom offers measurable boosts in the sound and battery department as well. This doesn't just help it overpower its smaller siblings, but also sets it at par with its competition.
The Megaboom boasts of a powerful, crisp sound and strong bass. It provides a room-filling experience, thanks to its cylindrical shape that emits 360-degree sound. I am not someone who sticks to one genre, but I demand versatility if I am spending this much on a speaker. Thankfully, the Megaboom excels at versatility. I played RnB, Jazz, Electro and what not on the speaker, and every genre I tried was vibrant and expansive.
The 360-degree sound has also seen a noticeable improvement here. It was tough to find a spot where the music seemed to be playing from far.
Aside from audio, the speaker also has some rich features that I actually used. Answering calls is simple, just requires a single press of the Bluetooth button to pick up and hang up. The sound quality from the call and the microphone pickup left nothing to be desired.
Lastly, the waterproofing measures do well in protecting the internals for up to 30 minutes while submerged. I didn't get a chance to submerge it fully into the water, but I did use it during the Holi festival, and it passed all the tests.
Features
Those who rely heavily on feature set will be pleased with the Megaboom. Similar to rest of UE's line-up, this is also compatible with the companion app. You don't need the app to setup or use the speaker every time, but it does have some nifty skills up its sleeve.
For example, the built-in equaliser can be tweaked to your taste, and you can pair two UE speakers together. If that isn't impressive enough, you can set custom alarms for the speaker.
Moreover, the Megaboom's owner can invite others within its range to connect and make song suggestions via the app's Block Party feature.
Battery
Battery life, as mentioned earlier, gets a five-hour boost over its smaller UE counterparts to a total of 20 hours. This puts the Megaboom in the range of what I expect for a speaker of this size and price.
Final verdict
The UE Boom 2 is selling for Rs 9,999 right now, and the Megaboom is at Rs 16,495. With all the enhancements in mind, the Megaboom justifies the price, especially if you are looking for more power for your on-the-go parties. But, it offers nothing more than just some extra power and battery life over the Boom 2. So it's on you to decide if you are ready to pay an extra 6.5K for the extra juice and slightly muscled audio.
